


fleeting moment

by haplesspunk



Category: Suits (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Set between 9x04 and 9x08
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26326195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haplesspunk/pseuds/haplesspunk
Summary: Donna and Lily keep in touch after meeting.
Relationships: Donna Paulsen & Lily Specter, Donna Paulsen/Harvey Specter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	fleeting moment

**Author's Note:**

> So, I posted this little fix-it right after 9x08 was aired, but I deleted a few days after. If this sounds familiar to anyone, then that's probably it. I had no plans to repost it, but my cheerleaders liked it and if they do, then it must be good. As usual, thanks to Amanda (@iamdonnaspecter on twitter) and Luisa (@hellcsweetie on twitter, and here), for everything. I'm sure without them I wouldn't post half of what I write. ❤

They end the call with the promise to keep talking and Donna says she won't let the heavy load of her job in the way — _their jobs_ , because she tells Lily she won't let Harvey lose touch with his mom either.

(Not that she needs to; he's always either texting or giving her quick calls, even if it's just to check on her. He's trying so hard to make up for the lost time.)

As soon as the call is over, Donna gets Lily's number from Harvey and sends her a message. She texts back, tells her to stop talking to an old woman and to enjoy the evening with her boyfriend, a teasing emoji at the end. They'll have plenty of time to talk in the future.

"I love your mom already," Donna tells Harvey as she laughs, throwing her phone on the couch and pulling him by his arms, grabbing him by his hand and pulling him to his feet and toward her bedroom, to do just as she was told.

..

Lily already knows what Donna looks like, what with Marcus showing her photos from Harvey's work events and pointing out Donna as his Girl Friday, some odd years ago. Days before she had asked Harvey to send her a picture of Donna to save as contact; he sent a few, told her to pick. "I can't choose, there's so many," he'd texted.

The next time they talk, Lily initiates a video call. She has a feeling most of her relationship with her daughter-in-law will develop through calls, sadly; neither of them can just drop everything and visit the other, so the least they can do is show their faces through it all.

..

Lily calls one evening after going a few weeks with little to no contact from either her son or his girlfriend. Before any of them noticed, they started a routine of at least one video call per week; sometimes from Harvey, or Donna, or both of them. The last one, those are her favorites — Donna and Harvey end up bantering between themselves, even forgetting they are talking to her sometimes and it filled her heart with joy to see how happy her son was; how happy they made each other.

She knows it's work-related — last time Donna texted her, she mentioned some tough developments at the firm. She didn't want to bother them, but it's been a while. She misses talking to them, besides, she's a mom, she worries about them.

She calls Harvey's phone, but Donna answers instead; Harvey is in the shower and they chat a little about their day. In a big, beat-up Harvard t-shirt, snuggled up with a throw on the couch, she looks as homely as she looks exhausted. After a few minutes, she hears Harvey's voice, but can't make out the words. Donna replies with something about "what's mine is yours, including your mom."

They keep chatting until Harvey throws himself on the couch, almost crushing Donna, earning a mumbled, "you're such an idiot." He settles beside her, one arm over her shoulder as he grabs the phone from her hands with his free one and starts addressing his mom.

The three of them talk for hours; they keep it light, mostly telling old stories and joking. They don't mention anything work-related, and Lily doesn't ask.

The talk winds down and they notice Donna starts to snooze. Harvey looks like he doesn't want to disturb her.

"This week's been such a burden on her," he comments softly, brushing a finger on his girlfriend's cheek. The tender look he gives her makes Lily almost wish she weren't witnessing such a private moment.

"She seemed relaxed tonight."

"Yeah. I haven't seen her this relaxed in days," he chuckles. "She said she'd officially lose it if _someone_ —" he gives her a look that could only mean he's talking about himself, "—mentioned the firm tonight. It was good to forget about work for once."

Lily smiles. "You're welcome. Now go take your girlfriend to bed, and you rest some too. She isn't the only one who looks beat."

"Oh, don't worry, all I want right now is a pillow under my head. Goodnight, mom. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, son."

..

They talk about Harvey's childhood or Lily and Gordon's lives before his birth, sometimes. Lily tells her they didn't plan on having Harvey; they did talk about kids briefly, but it wasn't on their immediate plans. That's not how life goes though, and about a year later they had their first boy.

Which of course, leads to Lily teasing Donna about her future with Harvey, and she's surprised by how unbothered Donna looks by the questioning. She still remembers Katie's reaction when they talked about kids, back when she was dating Marcus. It'd have been funny if the poor girl didn't look terrified for life. Then again, Katie and Marcus were young and just dating. Donna and Harvey are most definitely not _just_ anything.

"We haven't discussed it," Donna tells her. "But he sure has made jokes about it. Kind of like the non-proposal — which by the way has yet to become official." She sounds annoyed, but the teasing glint in her eyes tells another story.

Donna does say she sees herself having a kid or two with Harvey, but it's not such a huge desire at the moment; there's too much going on in their lives. A pregnancy right now wouldn't be good for anyone involved.

Lily doesn't mean to make it emotional - but it's out of her mouth before she can stop it.

"Thanks, Donna."

"For what?"

"For being _someone special_ , of course," Lily chuckles, and her smile turns serene. "There's so much I missed, but there's so much of your life that has yet to happen and… I'm gonna be here for it."

Donna opens her mouth as if to say something, closes it, gives Lily a teary-eyed smile. "Yeah, you will."

Lily ends the call thinking of little red-headed children running around her art studio; maybe a little boy that is quite good at painting for his age, or a little girl that just likes to throw paint all over a blank canvas, and over herself.

She starts the companion piece to Harvey's painting that same day.

..

Donna looks up what's showing on Broadway, considers calling Lily to see if she's available for a weekend. They've been talking over the phone for some months now, and while they mentioned meeting up in person a few times, no plan has been made yet. She's getting restless.

She's thinking they can go see a musical, then meet up with Harvey for dinner. If Lily wants privacy, she can even stay at her apartment and she'll stay at Harvey's — not that that's such a problem, seeing how she might as well have moved into Harvey's already and he hasn't realized yet. In an afternoon, Donna decided to take a few minutes from her work to call Lily to share her thoughts.

"I was just about to call you," Lily's excited voice reaches her ears, and before Donna can explain her plans— "Are you guys able to come up here in a couple of weeks? My students are about to have an art exhibit, and I'll have a few paintings of my own to show too. You guys could make a weekend out of it. And come on, we've been talking for months; I want to meet you properly."

Donna says she'll talk to Harvey, but thinks they can make it. She tells her of her own plans — maybe Lily could come down to New York the weekend after the exhibit if she's free — her mother-in-law says she can't go before; it's a little hectic, trying to organize everything.

"I'll do my best. Oh honey, I can't wait."

"Me neither. Harvey even mentioned already we should make time to go up there. If we keep waiting for a lull around here to take a weekend off, or even a day off, we'll turn to dust before it happens," Donna snorts.

"A lawyer and a COO's works are never done, I guess?" Lily laughs and wrinkles her nose. "You know you don't need an event, an excuse, anything to come, right?"

"That goes for you too. Just tell us whenever you come so either one of us - or both - can take the day off..." she trails off looking somewhere in front of her, holds a hand up as if telling the person to wait. "Anyway, duty calls. I'll talk to Harvey and call you later, ok?"

"All right, talk to you later."

..

It's three days before their weekend in Boston. Donna receives a call from Marcus, instead.


End file.
